Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations and opening statements. I have a question for the three of them separately. Individually, they represent a significant number of members and whether they be hotels, restaurants or pubs, it is a broad range and they can be very different animals despite coming under the same bracket.

There seems to be a very low uptake of the financial supports offered by the Government. Is that true across the board in each sector, or have certain categories of hotel, for example, seen greater uptake? Likewise, have certain categories of restaurant or pub responded more favourably?

The witnesses have all raised the issue of the temporary Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme and the particular elements which apply to seasonal workers. Can they expand on the practical implications for seasonal workers? I am conscious that the scheme is based on payrolls from January and February. This may be a quieter time of year for some of the businesses represented here, with fewer staff employed. Could the witnesses speak to those two points?